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Debra Wheatman, President of Careers Done Write, provides expert insight to the job search process that puts your career in gear with tips for interviewing, networking, job search strategies and how to create a winning resume and cover letter.

Not getting interviews? This could be why!
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Not getting interviews? This could be why!

You’ve been filling out applications and sending resumes for weeks, maybe months, but you don’t get a response. You’ve fine-tuned your resume, but still, no bites. What’s going on? It could be a combination of factors, some within and some outside your control. A content creator posted on LinkedIn that he would not interview anyone with a Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL email address because, to him, it’s a “red flag.” He did not elaborate on what precisely these email domains might portend. Another hiring manager posted that he asks his recruiters to only source currently employed candidates, which is dumb. Several other managers and recruiters also jumped into the comments to tell him that. Here are some more reasons you may not be getting interviews….

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Don’t Flub the Interview: How Focusing on the Company’s Pain Points Will Land You the Job
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Don’t Flub the Interview: How Focusing on the Company’s Pain Points Will Land You the Job

Think you can wing that job interview because it’s all about you? Think again. The real star of the show is the company’s business pain. As much as we love talking about ourselves, acing an interview requires laser focus on the challenges the hiring manager faces. So, let’s ditch the improvisation and get down to targeted prep. Here’s how….

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3 Interview Questions You Must Know How to Answer
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3 Interview Questions You Must Know How to Answer

Job interviews are stressful. Even in the most friendly, non-confrontational interview setting, it still feels like your education, experience, and even your very character are all being called into question, and if you suffer from interview anxiety, are shy, or get nervous easily, you could come off as unfriendly, inexperienced, and not suitable for the team. The best way to overcome interview jitters is to practice, practice, practice….

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How to Handle a Rude Interviewer
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How to Handle a Rude Interviewer

What is the best way to handle a rude interviewer? The interview process should be a free-flowing discussion between two parties on ways to solve a business problem. Unfortunately, there are many bad managers out there and many, many people who have not received training on how to interview. This behavior does not merely sour candidates on certain companies, but it will impact the company’s brand….

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Are You Asking the Right Questions?
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Are You Asking the Right Questions?

Much of the career advice out there focuses on interview preparation for candidates, specifically on how best to formulate answers to typical questions. But the questions you pose during the interview are just as important—maybe even more important….

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Prospective Employers: Information on a Need-to-Know Basis
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Prospective Employers: Information on a Need-to-Know Basis

The Great Resignation and the ensuing candidates’ market have exposed how broken the hiring process is. Employers opine on why they can’t find any qualified candidates while candidates wade through systems and processes that can best be described as Kafkaesque. And, despite there being far more open positions than there are candidates, employers continue to approach hiring as if it is an unequal relationship in which they call all the shots. Nothing could be further from the truth….

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Ask Deb: How to Handle a Rude (and Bizarre) Interviewer
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Ask Deb: How to Handle a Rude (and Bizarre) Interviewer

Hi Deb:

I need some advice about a situation that recently occurred. I’ve been interviewing here and there but not actively looking. A few weeks ago, a recruiter contacted me about a role with a company that is regarded as a leader in my industry. I responded and met with the recruiter, the hiring manager, and two people on the team. They were all great, and I was psyched to learn more, so when the recruiter asked me to do a video interview with another stakeholder, I said sure. This person would be the internal client for the role for which I was interviewing.

To say this was a weird experience is to make a gross understatement….

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Avoid these mistakes and up your game when you interview
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Avoid these mistakes and up your game when you interview

You’ve heard it before, but let me repeat it: what you say is not nearly as important as how you say it. Once a conversation is over, most people don’t remember what was said, but rather how they feel about that conversation and what kind of impression it left. With this being the case, when you are interviewing, you must focus on your non-verbal communication even more than the words that come out of your mouth. Here are some common areas for improvement when you’re meeting with prospective employers, colleagues, and clients….

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Job seeking in a candidate’s market
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Job seeking in a candidate’s market

The job market has done a complete 180 from last year and is now red-hot. There are more open roles than candidates, and hiring companies are scrambling to fill these positions quickly. I recently wrote about things that employers should do to attract high-quality talent in these competitive times. But, as I always say, recruiting is a two-way street, and the candidates need to play an active role in the process. That means being proactive and taking control of your job search rather than leaving your career direction up to chance. So how, in a market in which job seekers hold the cards, should you best approach your search? ….

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Maximize the impact of your interviews
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Maximize the impact of your interviews

Congratulations! Your resume made its way through the ATS and its filters and to an actual human being. You had a great conversation with the recruiter; now it’s time to talk to the hiring manager. You know you need to prepare by researching the company and your interviewer and familiarizing yourself with the job description. But, there’s something even more important for which you need to be prepared. Something that many people neglect….

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